Ginyce Haywood, a senior, tallied her sixth goal of the season late in the first half on Tuesday night. However, it was not enough to overturn 18th-ranked Taylor University on Wednesday night in Crossroads League women’s soccer action from the John Ingold Athletic Complex. The Trojans took the match 4-1.
The Taylor combo of Shannon Jacobsen assisting a Megan Kammer header-goal would prove successful twice, first at the 14:42 mark, then again with 22:52 remaining in the first stanza. These goals would put the Trojans up 2-0.With 10:45 left in the first half Haywood would cut the Trojan lead in half. The Leafs would then go into halftime with the score still 2-1 in favor of the visitors.
Taylor (12-1, 5-1) outshot Goshen (6-7-2, 2-3-1) 12 to 6 and took six corner kicks to Goshen’s zero in the first 45 minutes. Maple Leaf senior goalkeeper Natalie Thorne made five of her seven saves for the game in the first half.
Just 1:40 into the second half the Trojans would strike again, as Nikki Zaino crossed a ball to Bailey Zehr, who then curled the ball over the goalie and into the net for a 3-1 lead. Then, at the start of the 59th minute, Zaino added a goal of her own, assisted by Kammer.
That score line would hold through the final whistle, Taylor winning 4-1. The Trojans registered 19 shots and 8 corner kicks while Goshen took 7 shots and no corner kicks.
With three games remaining in the regular season the Maple Leafs are tied for sixth in a ten-team league, with the top eight receiving bids to the conference tournament. Goshen is back in action on Saturday when they travel east to face Mount Vernon Nazarene University, who trail the Maple Leafs by one point in the standings. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. from Cougar Field in Ohio.
